Fluid dispenser provided with a dual purpose safety device

ABSTRACT

A fluid dispenser includes a receptacle (1), a dispenser member (2), and an actuator member (10) for actuating the dispenser member (2) to dispense the fluid selectively. The actuator member (10) is movable between a rest position and an actuation position for actuating the dispenser member (2), and includes a body portion (11) and a fluid expulsion portion (12) provided with an outlet orifice (13), the fluid expulsion portion (12) being movable relative to the body portion (11) between a locking position in which it prevents the actuator member (10) from moving towards its actuation position, and an in-use position in which it allows the actuator member (10) to move towards its actuation position. The fluid expulsion portion (12) includes a tongue (14) which, in the locking position, co-operates with a fixing element that is fixed relative to the receptacle (1), co-operation taking place through a slot (15) formed in the body portion (11), the slot (15) including, before first use of the dispenser, at least one bridge of material (16) acting as a first-use safety device and adapted to break when the fluid expulsion portion (12) is moved for the first time from its locking position to its in-use position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser provided with adual-purpose safety device, and in particular a fluid dispenser having asafety device providing safety both in transport and in first-use.

The term "transport safety" is used to refer to a device which preventsuntimely or accidental actuation of the dispenser, particularly while itis being transported. The term "first-use safety" is used to refer to adevice which informs the user whether the fluid dispenser has alreadybeen used for the first time.

Transport safety devices for fluid dispensers are well known in thestate of the art. In particular, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,148,806 and 3,402,862disclose transport safety devices in which actuation of the dispenser isprevented by pivoting a portion of the pushbutton into a lockingposition, and to actuate the dispenser, it is necessary for saidpushbutton to be pivoted back into its unlocking position. In thelocking position, a portion of the pushbutton bears against a fixedelement of the dispenser, thereby preventing any actuation of saidpushbutton. When the pushbutton is moved into its unlocking position, itno longer co-operates with said fixed element of the dispenser and thepushbutton can be actuated to dispense the fluid.

First-use safety devices, also referred to as "guarantee", devices, arealso known in the state of the art. For example, document FR-2 697 505discloses the use of an external ring placed around the actuator memberof the dispenser, said ring including a tongue that must be torn offbefore first use of the dispenser, with the external ring beingremovable once the tongue has been torn off, thereby enabling thedispenser to be actuated.

Those two distinct devices nevertheless give rise to complication in themanufacture and the assembly of dispensers, and they therefore increasecost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispenserhaving a safety device both for transport and for first use. With knowndispensers, combining both kinds of safety measures implies using twodistinct safety devices, one providing transport safety and the otherfirst-use safety. Manufacture and assembly of such a dispenser isconsequently more complicated, thus implying a higher cost.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the drawback and toprovide a fluid dispenser which advantageously combines both types ofsafety measures in a single device, so as to simplify manufacture andassembly and thus reduce cost.

The present invention thus provides a fluid dispenser comprising areceptacle, a dispenser member, and an actuator member for actuating thedispenser member to dispense said fluid selectively, said actuatormember being movable between a rest position and an actuation positionfor actuating the dispenser member, and including a body portion and afluid expulsion portion provided with an outlet orifice, said fluidexpulsion portion being movable relative to said body portion between alocking position in which it prevents the actuator member moving towardsits actuation position, and an in-use position in which it allows theactuator member to move towards its actuation position, said fluidexpulsion portion including a tongue which, in the locking position,co-operates with a fixing element that is fixed relative to thereceptacle, co-operation taking place through a slot formed in said bodyportion, said slot including, before first use of the dispenser, atleast one bridge of material acting as a first-use safety device andadapted to break when said fluid expulsion portion is moved for thefirst time from its locking position to its in-use position.

Preferably, the fluid expulsion portion is movable relative to said bodyportion in rotation about an axis perpendicular to the direction inwhich said actuator member is movable, said fluid expulsion portion inits locking position extending substantially parallel to said directionin which the actuator member is movable, and in its in-use positionextending substantially perpendicularly to said direction in which theactuator member is movable.

In a first embodiment of the invention, said slot extends on either sideof the tongue when the fluid expulsion portion is in its lockingposition, such that said fluid expulsion portion can be moved in eitherdirection towards its in-use position.

Advantageously, prior to first use of the dispenser, said slotincorporates a breakable bridge of material on either of said tongue.

In a second embodiment of the invention, said slot extends to one sideonly of the tongue when the fluid expulsion portion is in its lockingposition, said slot incorporating, prior to first use of the dispenser,a breakable bridge of material on said side.

Preferably, the dispenser member is mounted in fixed manner on saidreceptacle by means of a fixing element, and when said fluid expulsionportion is in its locking position, said tongue co-operates with saidfixing element to prevent the actuator member moving towards itsactuation position.

Advantageously, said body portion includes an abutment member whichco-operates with the fluid expulsion portion when said portion is in itsin-use position.

In particular, the fluid expulsion portion includes a rib which, in thein-use position, co-operates with a flat secured to said body portion tolock said fluid expulsion portion in the in-use position.

In an advantageous embodiment, said dispenser member is a pump, saidfixing element is a fixing ring, and said actuator member is apushbutton that is axially movable on said pump and around said ring.

In another advantageous embodiment, said dispenser member is a valve,said fixing element is a fixing ring, and said actuator member is apushbutton.

Advantageously, said pushbutton is angularly movable and includes twointernal ribs bearing against the ring and co-operating with the tongueto prevent the pushbutton being actuated while the fluid expulsionportion is in the locking position.

Advantageously, said fluid expulsion portion of the actuator memberincludes a nozzle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention appear onreading the following detailed description given by way of non-limitingexample with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic section view of a fluid dispenser of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic section view of a variantembodiment of a fluid dispenser of the invention;

FIG. 3 is fragmentary diagrammatic elevation view showing moreparticularly the first use safety device of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 and shows another variant embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 4a is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing yet another variantembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 a diagrammatic overall view showing a dispenser of the presentinvention in its locking position;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5 with the dispenser in itsin-use position; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a dispenser of theinvention in its in-use position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, a fluid dispenser of the invention comprises areceptacle 1 having an opening in which there is mounted a dispensermember 2, advantageously by means of a fixing element 3. The dispensermember 2 can be of any kind, and in particular it may comprise a pump ora valve. Similarly, the fixing element 3 may be a ring forscrew-fastening or snap-fastening, a cup, or any other fixing elementappropriate for fixing a dispenser member on a receptacle. The fluiddispenser is actuated by means of an actuator member 10 which isadvantageously a pushbutton.

In accordance with the invention, this actuator member (or pushbutton)10 comprises a body portion 11 and a fluid expulsion portion 12. It ismovable, for example in translation if a pump is being used, between arest position and a position in which the dispenser member 2 isactuated. The expulsion portion 12 is provided with an outlet orifice 13and advantageously with a nozzle 19, and it is movable relative to thebody portion 11 between a locking position where it prevents thepushbutton 10 from moving into its actuation position, and an in-useposition where it allows the pushbutton 10 to be moved into itsactuation position. FIG. 1 shows more particularly the locking positionof the fluid expulsion portion 12 of the pushbutton 10. This fluidexpulsion portion 12 has a projecting portion such as a tongue 14 whichco-operates, in the locking position, with a fixing element 3 that isfixed relative to the receptacle 1 to prevent the pushbutton 10 beingmoved. Advantageously, said tongue 14 bears against a portion of saidfixing element 3 as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the dispensermember 2 is directly mounted in the receptacle without using a fixingelement 3, the tongue can co-operate either with the receptacle 1 orwith a portion of the pump body. To co-operate with the fixing element 3that is fixed relative to the receptacle, the tongue 14 of the fluidexpulsion portion 12 extends through a slot 15 formed in said body 11 ofthe pushbutton 10.

Said fluid expulsion portion 12 is preferably moved relative to saidbody portion 11 of the pushbutton 10 by rotating about an axis that isperpendicular to the direction in which the pushbutton moves. In theexample shown in the figures, the pushbutton 10 moves vertically intranslation and the fluid expulsion portion 12 turns about a horizontalaxis. Thus, in its locking position, the expulsion portion 12 issubstantially parallel to said direction in which the actuator member 10is moved, and in its in-use position, said expulsion portion 12 issubstantially perpendicular to said direction in which the actuatormember 10 moves. Advantageously, an abutment member 18, 21 can beprovided on the body portion 11 of the pushbutton 10 as shown in FIG. 4.By way of example, this abutment member may be a flange 18 extendingover the fluid expulsion portion 12 and co-operating therewith when itis in its in-use position. In this way, the maximum angle through whichthe fluid expulsion portion 12 can be rotated is preferably ±90°relative to the locking position, and can be determined by said abutmentmember 18. Another example of an abutment member is shown in FIG. 4a. Inthis example, the fluid expulsion portion 12 has a rib 20 whichco-operates with a flat 21 secured to the body portion 11 to lock saidfluid expulsion portion in the in-use position.

Because of this rotary movement of the fluid expulsion portion 12relative to the body portion 11, said slot 15 is preferably slightlycurved in shape, as can be seen in FIG. 3, thereby enabling the tongue14 to move in rotation in the slot 15 between the locking position andthe in-use position.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tongue 14, when in its lockingposition, bears against the fixing element 3 of the dispenser member 2,so that actuation of the pushbutton 10 is prevented. When the expulsionportion 12 is moved towards its in-use position, the tongue 14 slides inthe slot 15 until it no longer co-operates with the fixing element 3 andit occupies the position shown in FIG. 7, outside the body portion 11.In this in-use position, the pushbutton 10 can be actuated to dispensethe fluid.

According to the invention, the slot 15 formed in the body portion 11 ofthe pushbutton 10 incorporates a first-use safety device, also known asa "guarantee" device or a "first-use indicator" device. This device ispreferably constituted by at least one bridge of material 16 that issuitable for breaking when the fluid expulsion portion 12 is moved forthe first time from its locking position to its in-use position. In thisway, if the bridge of material 16 is intact, the user knows that thedispenser has never been actuated. This breakable bridge of material canbe made of any suitable material such as a plastics material, and isadvantageously integrally formed with the body portion 11 of thepushbutton 10.

As shown more particularly in FIG. 3, in the locking position, the slot15 can extend on either side of the expulsion portion 12 such that theexpulsion portion can be moved in either direction away from the lockingposition to an in-use position. In this embodiment, the slot 15consequently preferably has two bridges of material 16, one on eitherside of the tongue 14, such that the first-use safety device iseffective in both directions. Naturally, the slot 15 could equally wellextend in one direction only from the locking position of the fluidexpulsion portion 12, in which case only one bridge of material needs tobe provided on said side.

As mentioned above, the dispenser member 2 may be a valve (see FIG. 4a).In some cases, the valve can be triggered even if the pushbutton 10 isnot moved axially, but is only moved angularly. Under suchcircumstances, it is advantageous to provide one or more internal ribs31, 32 (preferably two such ribs) inside the pushbutton 10 to bearagainst the fixing ring 3. Thus, when the fluid expulsion portion 12 isin the locking position, the two ribs 31 and 32 co-operate with thetongue 14 to form three-point contact preventing any axial and/orangular displacement of the pushbutton 10. When the fluid expulsionportion 12 is moved towards its in-use position, it becomes possible todisplace the pushbutton angularly, since contact between the pushbutton10 and the ring 3 takes place only via two points. Advantageously, theribs 31 and 32 are disposed in such a manner as to co-operate with thetongue 14 to form a triangle that is approximately equilateral.

The dispenser of the invention thus makes it possible to provide bothdesired kinds of safety measures, i.e., transport safety which preventsthe dispenser from being actuated so long as it is in the lockingposition, and first-use safety for informing the user whether thedispenser has been used previously. Both safety measures in thedispenser of the invention are implemented by the same means,specifically the slot 15 co-operating with the tongue 14. The inventionthus provides the advantage of making it possible to make a dispenserincluding both kinds of safety measure with a minimum of complication inmanufacture and assembly, and therefore at minimum cost. In addition, asexplained above, the device of the invention is easily applied to anytype of receptacle, to any type of dispenser member, and to any type offixing element.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fluid dispenser comprising a receptacle (1), adispenser member (2), and an actuator member (10) for actuating thedispenser member (2) to dispense a fluid selectively, said actuatormember (10) being movable between a rest position and an actuationposition for actuating the dispenser member (2), and including a bodyportion (11) and a fluid expulsion portion (12) provided with an outletorifice (13), said fluid expulsion portion (12) being movable relativeto said body portion (11) between a locking position in which said fluidexpulsion portion prevents the actuator member (10) from moving towardsan actuation position, and an in-use position in which said fluidexpulsion portion allows the actuator member (10) to move towards theactuation position, the dispenser being characterized in that said fluidexpulsion portion (12) includes a tongue (14) which, in the lockingposition, co-operates with a fixing element that is fixed relative tothe receptacle (1), co-operation taking place through a slot (15) formedin said body portion (11), said slot (15) including, before first use ofthe dispenser, at least one bridge of material (16) acting as afirst-use safety device and adapted to break when said fluid expulsionportion (12) is moved for the first time from the locking position tothe in-use position.
 2. A dispenser according to claim 1, in which thefluid expulsion portion (12) is movable relative to said body portion(11) in rotation about an axis perpendicular to the direction in whichsaid actuator member (10) is movable, said fluid expulsion portion (12)in the locking position extending substantially parallel to saiddirection in which the actuator member (10) is movable, and in thein-use position extending substantially perpendicularly to saiddirection in which the actuator member (10) is movable.
 3. A dispenseraccording to claim 1, in which said lot (15) extends on either side ofthe tongue (14) when the fluid expulsion portion (12) is in the lockingposition, such that said fluid expulsion portion (12) can be moved ineither direction towards the in-use position.
 4. A dispenser accordingto claim 3, in which, prior to first use of the dispenser, said slot(15) incorporates a breakable bridge of material (16) on either side ofsaid tongue (14).
 5. A dispenser according claim 1, in which said slot(15) extends to one side only of the tongue (14) when the fluidexpulsion portion (12) is in the locking position, said slot (15)incorporating, prior to first use of the dispenser, a breakable bridgeof material (16) on said side.
 6. A dispenser according to claim 1, inwhich the dispenser member (2) is mounted in fixed manner on saidreceptacle (1) by means of said fixing element, and when said fluidexpulsion portion (12) is in the locking position, said tongue (14)co-operates with said fixing element to prevent the actuator member (10)from moving towards its actuation position.
 7. A dispenser according toclaim 1, in which said body portion (11) includes an abutment member(18) which co-operates with the fluid expulsion portion (12) when saidfluid expulsion portion is in the in-use position.
 8. A dispenseraccording to claim 7, in which the fluid expulsion portion (12) includesa rib (20) which, in the in-use position, co-operates with a flat (21)secured to said body portion (11) to lock said fluid expulsion portionin the in-use position.
 9. A dispenser according to claim 6, in whichsaid dispenser member (2) comprises a pump, said fixing elementcomprises a fixing ring (3), and said actuator member (10) comprises apushbutton that is axially movable on said pump (2) and around saidfixing ring (3).
 10. A dispenser according to claim 6, in which saiddispenser member (2) comprises a valve, said fixing element comprises afixing ring (3), and said actuator member (10) comprises a pushbutton.11. A dispenser according to claim 10, in which said pushbutton (10) isangularly movable and includes two internal ribs (30, 31) bearingagainst the fixing ring (3) and co-operating with the tongue (14) toprevent the pushbutton (10) from being actuated while the fluidexpulsion portion (12) is in the locking position.
 12. A dispenseraccording to claim 1, in which said fluid expulsion portion (12) of theactuator member (10) includes a nozzle (19).